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Posted by admin
on April 2, 2012Comments Off on How to Get Along With Coworkers Who are Difficult

You see it everywhere; there’s always one or two people who mess it up for everybody else, isn’t there? It’s important to earn and maintain respect from your coworkers and that’s impossible to do unless you respect yourself enough to not do certain things such as talk behind peoples back, spread gossip, and not be helpful at all around the workplace.

Is it possible to get along with coworkers who seem miserable or ones who have a certain personality that rubs people the wrong way? The old saying still holds true today; use kindness to sooth these savage beasts. Okay, I just made that one up but it works! Usually, it’s just as simple as that.

You see, when there’s someone who stands out in such a way where it seems nobody can get along with them the quickest way to get through to that person is to be kind to them. Number one, they don’t expect it at all, they want everybody to be as miserable as they are. You will have to exercise a lot of patience but it can be done, I assure you. You can go to work and encounter this person and say something friendly after saying hello.

This is not so much about going out of your way to be nice to these people, it’s all about showing them that you are a human being and to let them recognize that you know they are human beings. Offer to get that person a cup of coffee or a snack, or anything that you feel may help break the ice. While all the other coworkers are sneering and laughing behind your back, knowing how difficult it will be for you to break through to this person, you can stay the course and see how far you can go. Be careful not to join in or participate in making fun of the whole situation; the last thing you want to do is appear insincere.

Be persistent but not overbearing in the way you communicate with this person and don’t let anything deter you from being nice to them. Soon enough you will break through the shell they have placed over their backs you will be able to communicate on a deeper level than most coworkers at work. That would signal the perfect time to ask that person to go hang out with you or have lunch so you could talk about work-related things.

Now, this person may be a little confused because you’re giving them attention that they probably know they don’t deserve and no one pays attention to them at all. However, try to be as sincere as possible and be patient; you may be able to turn that person’s negative outlook into a positive one. Heck, you just might make a wonderful lifelong friend in the end!